20-second Summary
Perfection is a tall order for us – or is it? This week, Jesus is wrapping up the Sermon on the Mount, and He sums it up, well, perfectly. He is not calling us to an impossible task, and in this week’s TWMWU, we discuss that and offer some tips on how to discuss it with your family.
Perfection
First Reading
The LORD said to Moses,
“Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them:
Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.
“You shall not bear hatred for your brother or sister in your heart.
Though you may have to reprove your fellow citizen,
do not incur sin because of him.
Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against any of your people.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
I am the LORD.”
Responsorial Psalm
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
He pardons all your iniquities,
heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
Second Reading
Brothers and sisters:
Do you not know that you are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person;
for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.
Let no one deceive himself.
If any one among you considers himself wise in this age,
let him become a fool, so as to become wise.
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God,
for it is written:
God catches the wise in their own ruses,
and again:
The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise,
that they are vain.
So let no one boast about human beings, for everything belongs to you,
Paul or Apollos or Cephas,
or the world or life or death,
or the present or the future:
all belong to you, and you to Christ, and Christ to God.
Gospel Reading
Alleluia
Whoever keeps the word of Christ,
the love of God is truly perfected in him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus said to his disciples:
“You have heard that it was said,
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.
When someone strikes you on your right cheek,
turn the other one as well.
If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic,
hand over your cloak as well.
Should anyone press you into service for one mile,
go for two miles.
Give to the one who asks of you,
and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.
“You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Perfection
REFLECTION – Be Perfect, As Your Heavenly Father is Perfect
“Perfection is a pretty high bar to set, Lord, I don’t think I can reach it, so, I’m not gonna try.”
How many of us have this in the back of our minds as we hear the last line of this week’s Gospel. Really, how does the Perfect God expect us to be like Him? The Good News is that He has given us the tools, teachings, and Grace to do just that. It is the Sanctifying Grace we receive at Baptism, Confirmation, and the other sacraments, that gives us His Divine Life through which we are perfected. Our sins are washed away, our lives are forever changed and we are made holy.
The first reading shows us that all the way back in Moses’ time, God was drawing His People into Himself and His holiness: Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy. (Leviticus 9:2) And then proceeds to tell Moses how the people will be holy – by loving one another, bearing no grudges or hatred against each other. Sounds a lot like what Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount – love your enemies, turn the other cheek, give up your cloak as well as your tunic. In other words – love in a self-sacrificing way. That is perfection. Jesus made us a Perfect example of this through His Passion and death. And by His Resurrection, we are healed of our sins, we are given the opportunity to share in the perfection of heaven, as He invites us in the Gospel to, “be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)
St. Paul sheds more light on the subject as he explains that we are temples of the Holy Spirit, and therefore, we are holy. He encourages us to not be proud or boastful, but be humble and simple in our faith, so that the Lord can work through us, drawing others closer to Him. We do not belong to anyone but God, let’s live our lives this way and understand that the only way to Perfection is by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior and living the Way He teaches and leads.
DISCUSSION – How Do We Become Perfect?
Discuss this week all the ways the Lord offers us to gain perfection. Sacraments, prayer, good works, gifts and fruits of the Spirit, are some of them. How do we accept these gifts and use them to the glory and honor of God? How do we worship? Is it in the spirit of truth and holiness? Or do we worship distractedly or unthinkingly? Can we do better? Can we offer ourselves more fully to God? How?
ACTIVITY – Perfect Forgiveness
This week think of someone who has hurt you or someone you love. Have you forgiven this person? Or do you hold a grudge or resentment? Pray to the Father to give you the grace and strength to forgive perfectly, to release you from the pain and hurt, and anger that may be lingering. And if you cannot seem to find the way to forgive, continue to pray for that grace. God will give it…sometimes it just takes a while for our hearts of stone to be softened into hearts of flesh. Taking this hurt to Confession is a helpful and positive way to move toward forgiveness.
DIG DEEPER – Other Perfection resources from Holy Owned and Operated:
Page: On the Road to Perfection – Walking in the Catholic Faith: A Podcast
TWMWU: He Was Made Perfect
TWMWU:Love Your Enemies
TWMWU: What is Love
TWMWU: Bonus: Ash Wednesday Fun Facts
Podcast: God the Father – Episode 104
Podcast: God the Son – Episode 105
Podcast: Perfection – Episode 0
Video: Fruits of the Spirit: Love
How do you allow God to bring you to Perfection?
by Beth & Kristofer Cowles
HOO™ Co-Founders
Other Help on HOO
Being On The Road To Perfection – Episode 166
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 24:32 — 22.6MB)
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Stitcher | Blubrry | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSS | More Subscribe Options
We are called to be perfect, as we discussed last week.
So, what does being on the road to perfection look like?
If Jesus was “finished” and his ministry was “completed,” as it means when He said, “It is done,” by saying, “It is perfected” just before He died on the Cross, He must have walked a road to perfection.
And so must we.
In this episode we discuss that concept, in terms of what we are doing and how we respond to the call for our life.
It’s a simple concept, and a difficult task, but we have the example of Our Lord which, from the proper perspective, is not an impossible example to follow and exemplify.
0 Comments